Author’s ballet on stage of M.Jalil Tatar Academic State Opera and Ballet Theatre in Soviet and post-Soviet periods

• Published in: Историческая этнология Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 303 - 313
• Main Author: Luisa R. Petrova
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Marjani Institute of History 23.07.2024
• Subjects: a.polubentsev; ballet; choreography; g.kovtun; national ballet theater; repertoire
• ISSN: 2619-1636
• DOI: 10.22378/he.2024-9-2.303-313

The article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of the ballet troupe of M.Jalil Tatar Academic State Opera and Ballet Theater in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. It shows that after the premiere of the first ballet “Vain Precaution” by P.Hertel in 1939, the troupe continued to master the performances of the classical heritage “Giselle” by A.Adam (1945) and “Swan Lake” by P.Tchaikovsky (1947). At the same time, the troupe was working on creating a national ballet performance. Turning to the historical past and folklore, the authors of the libretto and choreographers immersed the viewer in the life and culture of the Tatar people, and the composers built the score based on centuries-old musical traditions. All this was expressed in the ballets “Shurale” by F.Yarullin (1945) and “Zyugra” by N.Zhiganov (1946). At this time, new productions appear in the repertoire, reflecting the current ideas of Soviet art at the time of creation. These are “Bakhchisarai Fountain” by B.Asafiev (1946) and “Laurencia” by A.Crane (1953). In the 2000s, a number of premieres took place produced for the Kazan ballet stage – “The Tale of Yusuf” (2001) by L.Lyubovskiy, choreography by N.Boyarchikov, G.Kovtun; “Peer Gynt” (2003) by E.Grieg, “The Golden Horde” (2013), R.Akhiyarova – choreography by G.Kovtun; “Сarmina Вurana, or the Wheel of Fortune” (2013) by K.Orff, choreography by A.Polubentsev. The author sets the task of identifying trends in the development of the repertoire in the post-Soviet period. His focus is on original ballet performances. The conclusion was that the result of the search for choreographers on the Kazan stage, expressed in the synthesis of genres, styles, and appeal to new subjects for the ballet theater, was the enrichment of the repertoire of M.Jalil Tatar Academic State Opera and Ballet Theater and entertainment culture in general.